"Aha," smirked Gavin. He stood on the beach, beholding a bright blue creature, one he knew for a fact was absolutely not supposed to be that shade of blue under normal circumstances. "Let's just make absolutely sure, shall we?" With that, he plucked a small grey box off his belt, and slid it open, revealing a small screen, while a short antenna flipped open, the tip of which blinked green. Gavin pressed a button on the Poké Radar, and a single dot appeared on the screen- a gold dot. His smirk widened at the sight of this- this meant he was right. This meant that he was beholding a Shiny. He closed up the Poké Radar and clipped it back to his belt, before digging out his P*DA and pointing it at the Shiny before him.

"Slowbro, the Hermit Crab Pokémon. An evolved form of Slowpoke. Type: Water and Psychic. Walks upright due to the Shellder on its tail, but can no longer fish for food. If the Shellder is removed, it devolves to Slowpoke."

"Well, then," smirked Gavin, eyeing the Shiny Slowbro before him. "Looks like I'm about to nab my very first Shiny." As he spoke, he threw a Poké Ball. "Miror, go get it!" he exclaimed, his Maractus appearing in a flash of light.

"Sloooow..." the Slowbro remarked vacantly, eyeing the Maractus with an unreadable expression.

"Hmph. Looks like we're making the first move, then," said Gavin. "Well, I'm not about to fucking refuse the upper hand. Miror, Absorb!"

"Marac!" exclaimed Miror. His flowers glowed brightly, and beads of energy started to be siphoned off of the Slowbro, and into the Maractus.

"Slow... bro?" murmured the Water/Psychic-type. The Shellder on his tail muffled in an irritated fashion, biting down harder on its tail. This seemed to elicit a reaction from the Slowbro. "SlooowBROOOOOO!" he exclaimed, unleashing a powerful Flamethrower at the Maractus.

"Rrrractus!" exclaimed Miror, springing up into the air, narrowly dodging the Flamethrower.

Gavin grinned. "Now! Use Peck!" he commanded.

"Maaaaractus!" bellowed Miror as he dove down at the Shiny Slowbro, only to be met head-on with an Ice Beam!

"Fuck!" Gavin swore as the super effective move sent his Maractus tumbling backwards. "Miror, come on, get back in there! Secret Power attack!"

"Maaaa..." grinned Miror. A pink aura came over his body, before traveling through the sand on which the battle was taking place. And then, just before the Slowbro, a blast of pink aura and sand in equal measure blasted out of the ground, right into the Slowbro's face. The Hermit Crab Pokémon tried to rub the grit out of his eyes, but the damage had been done, his accuracy already lowered.

"Now! Absorb once again!" Gavin commanded.

"Maractus!" exclaimed Miror, once more siphoning energy off of the Slowbro. The Shiny responded with another Flamethrower, but with all the sand in its eyes, it was way off target.

"Alright, let's try it," declared Gavin, producing a Poké Ball from his backpack. "Slowbro!" he declared, holding the sphere out in front of him. "You shine for me now!" And he threw the sphere forward. "Go, Poké Ball!"

The ball hurtled forward... the ball struck the Slowbro... the ball split open... and then it snapped shut again and fell to the ground, having made no effort to pull the Shiny inside.

"Wait, what? What the fuck is this shit?!" Gavin exclaimed.

"Hey!" came a voice- the source of the voice was distant, but clearly getting closer by the second. "That's my Slowbro!" And at that moment, none other than Keith Masters showed up, running over to the blue Slowbro. "That's... that's my.... my Slowbro," he panted.

"Wh- oh, shit, man, I didn't realize," Gavin frowned. "Hey, I ain't no thief- I see this Shiny Slowbro walking the beach, I figure it's wild, you know?"

"No, I get it, easy mistake to make," Keith agreed. "Dudley here kinda wandered off by himself. Does that sometimes."

"Gavin Golurkson," replied the other, accepting the handshake. "I'm a Shiny hunter from Orre. For a minute, I thought this Slowbro here would be my very first Shiny."

"Shiny hunter, huh?" said Keith. "I don't consider myself one of those- more of a Poison-type specialist myself- but I got a few Shinies to my name. Dudley here was my first Shiny, in fact."

Gavin's eyes lit up. "You got other Shinies?" he replied.

"Yeah, just two others," said Keith. "A Beautifly and a Mareanie. I take it you never caught any, then?"

"Don't remind me," grumbled Gavin. "I was kinda hopin' to get started by the time I turned ten, but then, I also wanted to start off with a Shiny. Skip ahead to earlier this year, no luck. But then I meet this guy," he added, gesturing to the Maractus next to him. "He and I hit it off, I decide I don't mind starting with a non-Shiny after all."

"Marac, Maractus," nodded Miror. At this, Keith dug out his Pokédex and pointed it at Miror.

"Maractus, the Cactus Pokémon. A Grass-type," said the device. "Maractus uses song and dance to scare away bird Pokémon that try to prey upon the seeds of its flowers. It makes its home in arid environments."

"Cool shit, that Pokédex," Gavin stated. "I got a P*DA, myself- that's what you get in Orre." As he spoke, he dug out his P*DA and showed it to Keith.

At that moment, Meowth caught up with Keith. "Hey, dere you are," he said. "And who's dis?"

"...Dude!" Gavin exclaimed. "A bunch of Shinies, a talking Meowth- what else does your team have going on?"

"Lot of weird," Keith smiled. "Wouldn't have it any other way. So, Gavin, where you headed?" he asked.

"At the moment?" Gavin shrugged. "Probably to a Pokémon Center. Miror here took a buttload of damage in that battle."

"Well, there's one not far from here. I actually live right above it," Keith stated. "

"You what- dude," said Gavin. "How the fuck? What, some dingy little apartment? That's the kind of setup I'd expect to see back in Pyrite Town- this region's fucking huge, and you're obviously doing pretty damn good for yourself!"

Keith simply smiled. Gavin would see.

~~~~~

"...This is not the image your description evoked," Gavin said, staring up at the Poisonous Paradise, looking rather stunned.

"Well, come on in," Keith smiled, leading the way up the ramp. Gavin followed in silence, mouth agape. Dudley followed them all in as well, having stayed out of his ball the whole way back. Inside the Pokémon Center, Gavin's surprise compounded as he saw the blue-eyed Banette operating the healing machine. He took out his P*DA again and pointed it at Helena.

"Banette, the Marionette Pokémon. The evolved form of Shuppet. Type: Ghost. A discarded plush doll imbued with cursed energy. Sticks pins into its body to generate energy to lay horrible curses."

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center," Helena warmly greeted the newcomer.

"...The Banette talks, too?" Gavin asked Keith.

Keith nodded. "And before you ask- and believe me, you will ask- so does my other Banette, my Dusknoir, my Gengar, and my Camerupt."

"I understand," the Banette nodded. Already, the healing machine did its work, and so she handed the ball back to Gavin.

"Yeah, I mean... I ain't never heard of a talking Pokémon before, is all," Gavin explained. "Hey, Keith, man," he added, turning back to the Poison-type Trainer. "Thanks for everything, dude. I'll see you around, yeah?"

With that, Gavin made his way to the door. However, as Keith was quick to notice, so did Dudley! The Shiny Slowbro was walking after Gavin, prompting Keith to go after him in turn.

"Hey, what the fu-" began Gavin, as he noticed someone following him. "Oh- Dudley," he chuckled, turning to see the Shiny Slowbro. "Hey- that battle was some good shit," he stated. "I'll see you again, yeah?"

"Slow. Slowbro slow," Dudley stated, looking up at Gavin.

"Dudley, what's up?" Keith asked. "Saying goodbye?"

"Bro," Dudley replied, shaking his head. The Slowbro pointed up to Gavin.

Keith blinked, stunned. "Dudley?" he said to his Slowbro. "Is... is this true?"

"Slowbro!" Dudley nodded. "Slowbro bro slow, Slowbro bro bro!"

"Dudley's sayin' he likes Gavin, and wants ta be on his team," stated Meowth. "Dat battle at da beach must'a left a real impression on him."

"Holy shit," Gavin murmured. "I mean... I don't wanna separate you two, y'know? But if it's what he wants-"

Keith sighed. "One of the things about being a Pokémon Trainer is... you gotta do what's best for your Pokémon," he said. "Even if that means letting them go with someone else. Dudley... is this really what you want?" he asked the Shiny Slowbro.

"Slow. Bro," Dudley nodded. Then, Dudley walked back up to Keith and hugged him. Keith couldn't help but give a small smile as he hugged Dudley back. He knew this wasn't his fault, he knew the Shiny Slowbro still liked him. It was just... sometimes, the Trainer chose the Pokémon. And sometimes, the Pokémon chose the Trainer. Keith knew that this was one of those times. He relinquished his grip on Dudley and gave a nod, and the Shiny Slowbro walked back over to Gavin.

Gavin hesitated for a moment, then nodded as he accepted the Poké Ball. "Damn right I will," he replied. "If this is what Dudley wants, I'll make sure he doesn't regret it. He's in good hands." He then looked down at the Shiny Slowbro before him. "Well... welcome aboard, Dudley," he grinned. "You shine for me now. Dudley, return!" As he said this, he held out the ball, and withdrew the Shiny Slowbro that now belonged to him.

Keith watched as Gavin gave him one final nod, then walked away. He'd see that Shiny hunter again someday. And he'd see Dudley again someday as well. Though even with that knowledge, a tear rolled down his face.

Meowth looked up at Keith. "You'll see 'em again," he said. "I know ya liked havin' Dudley around. But I gots a good feelin' about dis Gavin fella," he nodded. "I tink ya did da right ting."